Downtown Bellingham restaurant plans to open Saturday

A new restaurant is scheduled to open in downtown Bellingham this week.

Back Porch Alley is set to open Saturday, Jan. 10, at 1212 N. State St. in the former Callaloo Caribbean Kitchen space, said co-owner Layne Southcott. The restaurant's schedule will be 4 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays in January, then be open more often in February.

Back Porch Alley will offer live jazz and blues shows, recruiting locally but also snaring bands traveling between Vancouver, B.C., and Seattle, Southcott said. It will be a southern-style restaurant, offering items such as ribs, gumbo and catfish to go along with some more traditional Northwest fare, including Dungeness crab.

Southcott has some experience with the music scene, having worked as event planner and a disc jockey around town. He's now in the real estate industry and is president of Southcottage Industries Inc. (www.whatcomleasing.com).